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September Salon previews

Sheila Bristow

"The Finding" and "Leap into Love", for mezzo-soprano, cello, and piano

Two songs from a cycle-in-progress, using poems about ecstatic dance from many cultures. "The Finding" is a contemporary Canadian poet's vision of a Sufi dance experience; "Leap into Love" is from the writings of 13th century mystic, Mechthild of Magdebourg. Performed by composer/pianist Sheila Bristow, mezzo-soprano Melissa Plagemann, cellist Nathan Whittaker.

sheilagailbristow.com

Carson Farley

Contrasts for piano, violin, flute, and cello

carsonicsproductions.com

Jessi Harvey

"Pieces of the Puzzle" is the second movement of my piano work, Eden Untamed, inspired by a speech about the issues faced and burdens borne by the 20th century composer and dedicated to Scott Muller. Continuing on from the first movement, "Themes Amuck", one of the original themes is warped and split into multiple pieces, recombined, and put back together.

soundcloud.com/masterjgeorge

Ian McKnight

Airship Pirates!

I composed my newest piece as if it were the score to a movie set in the steampunk universe. Steampunk is a recent fantasy and alternate history genre that imagines what would have happened if technology had progressed faster during the Victorian era. It is characterized by crazy inventions and flying contraptions usually powered by steam.

This piece imagines a flying pirate airship. The piece starts quietly at the dock as the pirates prepare the ship. The sounds of machinery and workers become louder as the ship becomes ready to take flight. When the ship finally breaks above the clouds there is a moment of peace as the airship floats through the air. The pirates come upon another unsuspecting airship. The music becomes increasingly intense as they approach the other ship and attack. At the end, the pirates celebrate their victory with a drunken dance.

ianmcknight.bandcamp.com

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May 2018 Previews

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March 2018 Previews

Sarah Bassingthwaighte H20 , for soprano, flute, and guitar My piece is called H2O and will be performed by the Ecco Chamber Ensemble: Sarah Bassingthwaighte, flute; Stacey Mastrian, soprano; Mark Hilliard Wilson, guitar. The piece is written in graphic notation in the shape of a circle and the players rotate the circle as they go through 6 different forms of water: Snow, Droplets, Rain, Storm, Frost, and Ice. There is a lot of guided improvisation used by all of the players. It will be performed on April 21st at SOMA Towers as part of KING-FM’s Resonance Series. sarahbassingthwaighte.com Gavin Borchert Three songs Sagrada noche (4’) Cuando en el sol (4’) Una vez (7’) Gavin Borchert, piano; Michael Monnikendam, baritone Some time ago I discovered the song “Nacht und traume” by Schubert, which is now my favorite of all of his. Researching it I stumbled on a beautiful (anonymous) Spanish translation of Matthaus von Collin’s original German text, which itself seem